Hyperion Cantos: The Builders and the 9 Labyrinthine Worlds

SPOILERS! In Dan Simmons's epic science fiction saga there are Several planets known to be Labyrinthine worlds. The Labyrinthine worlds were always similar to each other. Each world was earth-like. The Hegemony has a method of measuring Earth-Like worlds known as the solmev scale, each of the labyrinth worlds measured at least 7.9 out of 10 on the scale.. They always circled a G-type Star. The Labyrinthine worlds were all tectonically dead, meaning the continents did not shift as they did on earth. And below the surface of each of the labyrinthine worlds, a minimum and 10 kilometers deep were systems of elaborate tunnels. Thousands of kilometers of tunnels catacombed the entirety of each world. The Tunnels of each world were exactly 30 meters square and had perfectly smooth walls.
Since the Higera, mankind's great exodus from earth and into space, more than 8,000 worlds had been explored and out of those 9 worlds were found to have Labyrinths. Though it is mentioned multiple times in the series that there are 9 labyrinthine worlds, only three of them are ever actually named. Armaghast, Svoboda, and Hyperion. Many planetary archeo historians devoted their lives to the study of the labyrinths.
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[@ryans3001]

Alien Archeology has always been my favorite sub-genre, even when it comes only as part of the larger story it still intrigues me to no end!

[@bedosar]

Me too. Can you please recommend some media about them？Been struggling to find some.

[@ryans3001]

@@bedosar Check out an author named Jack McDevitt he has a great series of books called the *Academy*

[@bedosar]

@@ryans3001 Thank you very much.

[@ryans3001]

@@bedosar Your welcome! let me know if you like it. :)

[@bedosar]

@@ryans3001 Will do.

[@h4rv32d]

Dunno if this will even reach you, but I would like to thank you for paying this amount of attention and interest to the series that's the greatest love story ever told. The Cantos is a monumental, multi-layer palimpsest of themes, ideas, and archetypes, but the climax of the Raul/Enea arc is a beautiful culmination to them all. I've been reading it all over again for over a decade along with other works by Dan Simmons, which I try to acquire in original, since English is not my prime language. I've noticed that there's a lot of lightness and artistry to it when you read the original and not the translation. Simmons, like Shakespeare is read best in original (Klingon ;) ).

[@DistantEarlyWarning]

So happy you're doing more Hyperion videos. I just finished the series a few days ago and it was phenomenal. Top shelf science fiction 👌

[@TheJosep70]

Just finished the second book now... Cool profile image.

[@johnbroe]

@@TheJosep70 did you move on to Endymion and Rise of Endymion? If Not, I highly recommend you give it a chance...it's incredible and it ties up the whole story so well. It's my favorite science fiction epic.

[@Panzer_the_Merganser]

Sweet! Watched all of the previous Hyperion episodes last night and a new one today? Subscribed, keep up the great work!

[@squeakeththewheel]

I became a Patron!

[@JamezDahlMusic]

Ok I’m going to read Hyperion now

[@damirserban]

you will be thrilled, I did not read them in order, and it added to mistery ... Great story and great experience ..

[@RevolverRez]

You should, they're fantastic stories and while the first book is the best they're all amazing in their own right.

[@Oveyz]

Hyperion and Fall of hyperion are some of my fav scifi books, I'm very happy to see you take them on! If you're looking at more high concept sci fi, I can recommend the works of Vernor Vinge in particular. A Fire Upon the Deep - and A Deepness In The Sky. He writes alien PoVs like nobody's business, and his realistic take on space travel and warfare is excellent.

[@Kingtrollface259]

i have to say this is fastly becoming my favourate you tube channel ,so much unknown content to delve in to , awesome work quinn

[@2intheway]

Your channel is always getting better man. I've been watching since early season GoT vids and have read the first 4 Dune novels and the first Hyperion Cantos because of your videos. Thankyou, keep it up!

[@Omnifarious0]

I always thought "The Builders" was actually the AI ultimate intelligence. They seemed purpose design to hold all of cruciform enslaved humanity while the technocore unleashed the galaxy or even universe wide death wave.

[@kingkusnacht]

This is definitely what I thought so as well. We definitely know they at the very least placed the Cruciforms there and probably built the whole thing. Though as we also know there are many different AI factions fighting each others due to their pathological nature, so I'd guess it was the "Ultimates" faction that built this to eventually enslave humanity for the purpose of helping to build their UI god

[@zekonja90]

They were, AI built them so they could keep humanity there, enslaved as its CPU units.

[@YumanoidPontifex]

that was my understanding from the books. perhaps they chose: - earth-like planets orbiting a sun-like star(g-type) because they want to store human bodies there, meaning bodies naturally adapted to this kind of environment - tectonically dead, because they want to build this once, store the bodies for a VERY long time (basically forever) and not have to come back periodically to check if the tectonic activity has compromised the project :) [spoiler alert] elements of the core exploited human bodies for their purposes through the humans' use of farcaster portals at first. after the fall of the farcasters, they found another way - turns out somehow living entities are the most creative in the moments of death, so this time the AIs are piggybacking on that mechanism. hence the whole deal they made with the catholic church to proliferate the (now perfected) cruciform. they started their artificial lives as parasites, so that's what they do best :)

[@christinfranklin1333]

I haven't read it yet but you're comment piqued my curiosity..I'm guessing that people are using the cruciforms to maybe teleport?? Or travel at light speed? ...Anyways my question is...when the human's use them well they be stuck with them forever and basically deal with the horrors that the priest dealt with or did the aliens change the function of the parasites to be like a one time use ??? I hope my comment/question makes sense...my mindI knows exactly what I want to say/ask... but going from thoughts to words isn't working very well for me tonight..

[@Omnifarious0]

@@christinfranklin1333 - The remains of the Technocore made a deal with the Catholic Church for an improved version of the cruciform that didn't degrade intelligence over time. One use the Catholic Church put the new cruciform to was resurrecting people after FTL jumps that involved acceleration that turned them to jelly. Only high members of the enforcement arm were granted the 'privilege' of using this technology.

[@hazel7296]

I read Hyperion way way back when I was a teen and I feel like I just forgot all of this. It's fun to have such clean summaries of the ideas in these books again

[@Cykotyk]

So glad you are covering these books. They've been some of my favorite for years.

[@chellybub]

I'm engaging at maximum levels 😎 The Labyrinthine world concept, and concepts like it, is such a cool addition to any fiction. Kingkiller Chronicles has the underthing, ASOIAF has the maze makers and the oily black stone. There's plenty of others, but the idea of some unknown origin for great works of architecture and engineering is always interesting and is the kind of mystery that keeps you invested in the mythos of the setting. The less answers the better, especially if the answers only raise further questions!

[@Provigilman]

So glad you're getting back to making more Hyperion videos. This is one of my favorite Sci-fi series. And if you haven't already, check out Ilium and Olympos, they're really great too.

[@rinuel3054]

I've always liked your content but I'm specially grateful for the videos you make about Hyperion. It's one my favorite sagas and it's very rare to find related info anywhere. Keep up the good work!

[@julioamayajr3919]

As always Quinn - top notch presentation and discourse - Thank You

[@WaskiSquirrel]

I'm enjoying your deep dives into Hyperion. I reread the series last summer and came to appreciate just how much was in the series. It really feels like a real universe with so much more to explore than the tiny bit you explore in the four novels.

[@TonyAnnechino]

You have a unique and engaging way of delivering your content. I appreciate it very much.

[@samuraijim9243]

Yeah Quinn! Keep the Hyperion videos coming! This is the most underrated book series and deserves a movie or streaming adaptation.

[@mgkole]

I love your videos! Even though I have read most of the books you analyze, I love how you sum up and present the most interesting themes. It's a pleasure to watch and listen to.

[@erroneousdrunk]

Love this series and your other videos! Recently finished the Three Body Problem main trilogy then found your videos. Commenting so I get more! :D

[@michaelvalentine4576]

thanks for making more hyperion content it became my favorite series after you recommended it

[@greyknight9972]

Seeing your videos on the Hyperion Cantos has made me want to pick them up! Never read them before but now I'm very intrigued.

[@TheCreepyLantern]

i want it noted i've ordered the first hyperion book because of you so thank you

[@jeremykiahsobyk102]

I really enjoyed Endymion's saga when it came out... shortly after I graduated from high school... Simmons has a really cool style of reskinning and expanding on ancient narratives. His Olympos series is worth a look as well.

[@DarkHighlander1993]

Because of your videos I started reading the Hyperion Cantos and I just finished Fall of Hyperion. They were both so good!!

[@swaggerdagger5168]

Is there even a word in existence that's cooler than "Labyrinthine"??

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

Wibbly-wobbly.

[@lucbuydens1783]

Shrike bird. That these even exist....

[@jeremykiahsobyk102]

I'm partial to "iconoclastic" and "mellifluous" for aesthetically pleasing adjectives.

[@nicolasinvernizzi6140]

Excelsior!

[@MagusMarquillin]

Oh sonny, "Catawumpus" is the greatest Word in the world!

[@nitayrafowicz5934]

I'm new to your channel but MAN IS YOUR CONTENT GREAT AND CONSUMABLE IT IS ALSO FUN AS HECK. You got me hooked

[@cuetlachtlieztli7122]

Always fantastic work. I’ve picked up a bunch of books all because of you and your fantastic videos.

[@bigsarge2085]

Might have to re-read the Hyperion Cantos soon. You're reviving my love for these novels by covering all the most intriguing aspects of the story. Thanks!

[@Dodoubleg187]

Great video as always!

[@janbonne]

Shine favorably upon this channel

[@lookalivebrett]

Keep up the good work. We love to see it. I really *dug* this episode.

[@tappajavittu]

I'm loving the Hyperion cantos content, this book series and especially the first two books need to be discussed more.

[@jessehilton1337]

Can’t get enough of these videos.

[@while.coyote]

These are great. You should make longer stuff.

[@KingCarl66]

Great Quinn! Share more of the Hyperion Saga!

[@0321Dave]

Keep these coming!!!!

[@nachtschattenwolfW40k]

I never heard about Hyperion Cantos - thank you for that - I have seen four Videos now and it is axacly what I need. I buy it now haha keep up!

[@prissweb]

LOVE YOUR CHANNEL MAN :)

[@Dan-ji4db]

Im about 3 hrs into the audiobook and its incredible

[@LancerDL]

Thanks to your reviews I continued reading Foundation after the second book (I lost interest but you sparked it again when you mentioned someone else besides the second foundation was orchestrating events), am now reading I, Robot and want to read Hyperion now too! You're great at marketing, though I doubt it was your intention. :D

[@raymanovich3254]

Hyperion is epic, it certainly won't dissapoint.

[@WillyDIreland]

The other book series of Ilium and Olympos by Dan Simmons are every bit as complex as the Hyperion cantos but I loved them

[@ryans4877]

They were interesting to be sure. I loved the concepts involved and some of the characters but something about the series just didn’t land for me. The Cantos seemed to have heart, so many scenes I found touching and sincere. That was almost completely lacking in the Illium series and there was too much going on with the literary references. Sticking to only myth or Shakespeare would have been more effective IMO. Of course experience is highly subjective, but I am curious what you liked about the series so much. It’s been well over a decade since I’ve pulled them off the shelf so approaching with a fresh perspective might help me enjoy them more.

[@WillyDIreland]

@@ryans4877 I read them three times before I fully understood the story. It was heavy for me but I found it easier to grasp each time....and googling a lot of the references helped 😂

[@lindawade4ok639]

I hadn't seen those I guess I'll look them up, he kind of slowed down after Hyperion from what I could tell. I've read other books of his the none of them came to the level of Hyperion

[@andrewbolten2988]

This is great, keep it coming.

[@SnakeHoundMachine]

Yes! I was hoping you were going to do more videos on Hyperion.

[@torwynd3131]

Always happy to see more Hyperion content. Looking forward to a vid about the Technocore. I hope you talk about the Allthing as well and its connection to the Technocore and how it controlled human politics across the hegemony.

[@gameoverinsertcointocontin8102]

It has been a while since I read the books,but I thought a future techno core was involved. The labyrinths were perhaps both a refuge for the AI as well as a trap for humanity.

[@latenitelorns]

Been loving all the Hyperion content

[@UncleAl18]

I just want to thank you because of you I read these great books

[@Dave0G]

Anyone worry that they consume more through 3rd party works than the original works these days? More efficient but...

[@blaze100587]

Yea thts about where im at as well. There's just too much good content these days tht most of the time I just cant find the time to watch a 15hr season or audio book so i just watch an hour deep dive on yt 90% of the time n only save the very best or most anticipated for actually going through it myself 🤷

[@shawnwales696]

Nah, just makes me want to re-read the books.

[@Johnston212]

Honestly, his videos on Dune made me realize that I was reading it wrong, so it helped, lol

[@charliecrome207]

Quinn's videos are actually what inspired me to read Hyperion and dune

[@thelordz33]

These videos actually got me back into Hyperion so I am now listening through Endymion since I hadn't read it yet.

[@Adamk24]

Love the Hyperion content, thanks!

[@Drakhpally]

I read the entire Hyperion saga thanks to your recommendation. Thank you.

[@fuffoon]

I think that you made the entire point of the labyrinths at the very end. They are a mystery and demonstrate that the Hyperion universe is but a piece of all time and places and there are things further beyond the present whole.

[@stayflyghost]

You got me into 3body problem and Hyperion Cantos.

[@wilfordwarhammer8872]

All in with the Hyperion videos. Love it! Please consider reading Malazan Book of the Fallen if you haven't. They are amazing epic fantasy books with so much to talk about and explore.

[@wertyda1]

Quinn, you’ve got some pretty cool ideas mate :)

[@theexcaliburone5933]

I love this channel

[@sutterkane3264]

Any chance of more lovecraft focused videos coming soon? Love the vids!

[@NoWheyHombre]

I prefer this older Quinn's ideas musical opening

[@TheSDBux]

Are we preparing for a Hyperion Cantos ultimate guide?

[@c.s.hayden3022]

The labyrinths, the time tombs, and the shrike are all clear metaphors for the struggle with existence. The world is a meaningless labyrinth, we long to live eternally in death, life is a shared suffering. It’s kind of bleak but those are things we all need to contend with and somehow overcome.

[@ryancoody7069]

All right all right I concede. You're making me interested

[@curtisalanmcgee]

I appreciate your content

[@juliaolivetti]

damn nice video as per usual

[@nopancreasnoproblems]

I love Hyperion, its great to see you do another great video on the series. Have you ever read Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny? It is amazing and I have not heard much about it on youtube.

[@BLooDCoMPleX]

That's one of the best sci-fi I have ever read, it actually got me interested in Buddhism for a while. It's also a major influence on GRRM (alongside many other works and ideas by Zelazny, who was a close friend and a mentor to him).

[@MitchTubeism]

Creatures of Light and Darkness was another great one along those lines - Egyptian themed!

[@Nugatron50000]

Ew when that synth bass droped in the intro I got real hyped. HYPErion.

[@CAPSLOCKPUNDIT]

Okay, I'll read the set. Now to decide whether to preempt spoilers, or watch your next video.

[@brucenolasco6868]

Great video

[@dylanpathak7051]

Hyperion cantos I find really difficult to read but when I got to the chapter with paul and the bikura I was hooked cause he was figuring stuff out and trying to understand his own unknowns I struggle when things I have no idea about aré described as though I should already know what they are your videos Quinn help me to disentangle this stuff and enjoy the book on a more fundamental level

[@forgettable8300]

Where might i be able to purchase these books these are so dang cool

[@eyeliketony]

The Hyperion books would make for an awesome movie or series. Can you do a series of vids on the Ringworld books too by Larry Niven?

[@gorymarty56]

I love the graphics in this series

[@AlucardNoir]

1:25 Interesting choice in image.

[@jonahlefholtz8219]

Hey, Quinn! I love your videos. Would you do a video about the Tree Ship? It's one of the most difficult things for (my autistic and specific-to-me) brain to envision. While I am hyper visual I am unable to envision things that don't make sense to my dumb, unimaginative brain and your videos are just so great at helping me connect the dots.

[@jamesfoster9613]

I re bought the Hyperion Cantos (long ago lent out and never returned by a forgotten friend) just because of these vids...

[@Sykohsis]

Hyperion Cantos and the Ender's Game/Shadow of Ender series were my favorite when i was a teen.

[@ImperiumVita]

I read the first two books in the series awhile back, sadly never picked up the two. I'm due for a reread. The thing that sticks in my head about these books to this day is the All-Thing... A massive galactic social network that doubles as a legislative body... No elections the rules are made by whoever is interested enough to bother going online to argue about it... Little did I know Dan Simmons was describing Twitter...

[@tappajavittu]

I wanna give a slight warning about the Endymion books, to me they felt way more straight forward and pulp'y than the first two books, like an intergalactic road trip adventure with your space buddies with the Shrike used as a get out of jail free card when it felt like Simmon's had written himself in a corner and needed a deus ex machina to save the main characters.

[@brianjohnson5272]

Alien tech will vary wildly from ours. 1. Planetary composition, I always here "follow the water" as the key but im sure it's only partly correct. It should be "follow the liquid" life doesn't need H2o exclusively to be sentient just similar. Then you've got the what metals and materials do they have or not. If the have an abundance of silver but no tin how will they evolve tech? 2. Genetics: the old game spore put that in perfectly if only roughly. You have 3 paths from single cell to space travel, carnivore herbivore and omnivore at each stage. So if the are carnivores the species will be aggressive, predatory, and feel superior to just about anything not proven to be bigger and meaner. Herbavores will be shy, retiring beings with a pension for hiding and avoiding other races. Omnivores are a crap shoot, with the best and worst traits the other two have. 3. Mental aspects, are they herd based, alpha based or a hive mind? This is the scariest for humans. We are 7+billion individuals, if they aren't and it's only a few or one running it all we just fundamentally understand them and war would likely ensue (much to our detriment) and vice versa how could our species even invent the wheel alone?! 4 similarities in species, if humans got first contact with a species that looked like your last real meal planetside could you treat them as anything but beneath you? What if they have a species of monkey on their homeworld that is our equivalent of the family cat?! Could the consider us more than a creature to be petted occasionally and left to our wandering? We need to think not in terms of "they look like X,Y, or Z" and treat them as people and well this species hasn't made in roads on that in 60 or so years really so unless we are forced into that line of thought it's not happening in at least a century (more likely two). 5. Prior interaction with us and others, If we bumped into the local bullies and had our backend handed to us how would we respond to a second rolling into orbit and saying hi? We'd turn them into nuclear dust of course. What if it's the local snake oil seller, or the UFP variant. Our first time will PERMANENTLY color our species. So if we decide to announce our arrival onto the quadrant stage we need to be open but ready to throwdown if needed. A trust but verify in a heavily defended ship style of contact. To give a perception our bite is fatal of provoked but if you let us look you over and see your not too bad we can be friends way is best. That's it my brain is toast y'all figure the rest.

[@hullbreach33]

Thanks for this series. May I humbly request Alastair Reynolds "Revelation Space" series next?

[@ryans4877]

Such an amazing series up til the very end. Could have been such a stronger finish :/

[@hullbreach33]

@@ryans4877 True. But it was a much stronger finish than the Hyperion series. Rise was a chore to finish.

[@ryans4877]

@@hullbreach33 really? Rise is my second favorite of the series behind Hyperion and one of the strongest series finales in sci fi IMO So funny how divergent opinions can be.

[@hullbreach33]

@@ryans4877 Oh man it was drudgery for me. Especially how Simmons had to name every member of the group "george and jigmi, the thunderbolt sow" etc on what seemed like every page. I really hated how the backstory of the Shrike contradicted everything we saw about it in the first book. Continuity issues like that are a real dealbreaker for me. It had its moments, but overall it was a letdown for me. Hyperion and Fall really roped me in hard. Endymion was ok, but Rise was just a weird buzzkill that in some ways is hard to explain. But I guess thats what i get for sticking with a series with so much time travel as I generally hate time travel stories. I loved Revelation Space so much I had to go gather up all the short stories set in that universe and read them too.

[@nicoyoung8019]

Not sure if you read these specifically this late after you release them. I was curious if you have ever heard of warhammer 40k? Based on all of your videos it seems like something you would really enjoy.

[@Bodilesss]

Any chance you might do a vid series of Julian May’s series The Many-Colored land? I think there are 9 books in the entire series, including all the way to Magnificat. Riveting reads!

[@etanneriii]

just started Hyperion. Amazing.

[@zmbipi]

Chapterhouse video?

[@Citi2en_V41n]

Kind of gives you that Ozymandias feel. Also, scary, like “these people were way more awesome than you, and yet they still died off without a trace. So how will you fare?”

[@RogueBoyScout]

So next pay I begin the Hyperion Cantos. I have you to thank for that, so thank you.

[@bagger35e]

A nice vid on that odd volunteer government in the cantos would be cool

[@Neverwas_one]

I always thought they were built in the future and sent backward thru time by the techno core . After reading the books the techno core kinda established that as their MO.

[@alexbickers8388]

*SPOILERS* My theory is that they were built by the "Aeneans". Through the teachings of Aenea, people in the future learned to farcast and even eventually travel through time. I sort of assume these humans of the future later became the "Lions and Tigers and Bears", or the Human created AI that are often talked about. We know it is them who moved the original earth into hiding. Could it be them who went back in time and created the labyrinths for some other purposes? I know it looked like the techno core created them using technology from the future for various uses, but it could be the Aenean's needed them to exist in order for the events to play out in the way they did.

[@alexbickers8388]

@@jonathanzentelin2815 Good points! except for the last bit, and a little insulting. Simmons left so much to interpretation and didn't give us definitive answers answers on anything. You could say he didn't even know some of the answers himself. Just because the technocore used the Labyrinths for those purposes it doesn't proove that that was what they were originally designed for. There is evidence to prove your point in FOH, but in the final 2 books there is evidence that contradicts it. Its been a while since i read them but I swear I got the impression that the technocore didn't even know what they were for, and they just used them for their advantage.

[@TheJaviferrol]

When you get to Fall of Hyperion and discover alongside Father Dure what´s the truth about the Labyrinth

[@wasfuerkeksigkeit]

Can you remind me? It’s been a while since I read these masterpieces.

[@avataryellow]

@@wasfuerkeksigkeit spoilers below The technocore did it

[@rogeriopenna9014]

@@avataryellow Trying to remember, but don´t they find trillions of humans bones, or maybe cruciforms, inside the labyrinths?

[@likeAG6likeAG6]

@@rogeriopenna9014 They did, yes.

[@rogeriopenna9014]

@@likeAG6likeAG6 ok, but what was the reason again? The techno core deposited the dead remains of whom there?

[@kirilbulgariev]

Make more videos about Hyperion

[@MadeInChina637]

What is the music track for the intro? Very cool.

[@JB-1138]

This sounds interesting.

[@davidbrennan660]

The Ideas must flow.

[@mr.christopher6833]

This comment is an offering to the Almighty Algorithm, long may It reign. I'm absolutely addicted to your writing and oratory, Q. Thank you. Keep doing what you do.

[@enobnala90]

Nice!

[@Staylecrate]

I haven't read the last book and don't know if they ever tell the mystery behind the labyrinths. But I thought that maybe the technocore created them in the far future (for what ever reason). Because if they can make the time tombs why not time labyrinths. It would make sense since these worlds are connected with humanities sprawl through out the galaxy. The world is tectonically death now and in the future, but who knows when the planets stopped being geographically active in the past.

[@isaacschmitt4803]

My headcanon is that there exists in the far future an iteration of the History Channel that claims to have figured out everything, and some distant descendant of Giorgio Tsoukalos is the host.

[@Ben-kz2km]

One day, someone will look at the complete Bitcoin blockchain and the herculean computational effort required to build it with the same confusion with which mankind looks at the labyrinthine worlds in the Hyperion saga.

[@tellonalex6886]

You should do audio books. I would pay

[@0321Dave]

Can’t wait to get the last installment of the Dune series too!!!

[@ericbedrosian9344]

I would like to start reading Hyperion. Do you have an introductory video. Or video that can explain its literary or cultural significance.

[@fredwebster6492]

Maybe the Technocore builds the labyrinths in the future to capture humanities instrest and draw them to certain worlds so that it can concentrate its efforts.